Robert,
See below for "in-line" answers:
~~Garry
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Original Message:
-----------------
From: Robert Wittig [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2001 10:25:50 -0500
> Garry,
>
> > So at least I have a clue. And, clearly, others who
> > answered also have a clue. Let's begin.
>
> Thanks for the lucid and very explanatory post. As a
> beginning programmer, I have found such explanations as
> valuable as they are rare, and would ask your permission
> to pass it along to another beginning programmer, in your
> own words, instead of mucking it up by trying to paraphrase
> it. Of course I will give you full credit.
>
--
Very kind of you. Happy to be of service.
Of course, please feel free to pass my messages forward.
If others can benefit from my experience or "insights"
then I'm all for it. Naturally, I don't mind the exposure.
--
> Also, if you have any book titles/ authors you think are
> especially good, for C (any flavour) Basic (any flavour)
> Perl, Pascal, or especially Assembly, or any books that
> address issues basic to programming in general, I would be
> very interested in any such recommendations.
>
--
Well, I do have a reasonably well-stocked bookshelf, but
many of the titles you'll see there are out of print.
I'll do a review and see what I can come up with. Some of
them will be available through libraries, others will have
been revised and be available. Some are just dead, Jim.
--
> Also (yeah, I know I'm getting a little off topic<g>) I am
> curious if you have formed an opinion regarding Java, as a
> portable language.
--
Java is portable on purpose. The stated aim has been "write
once, run anywhere." Java is, if anything, more portable in
some respects than 'C'. One doesn't "compile" Java programs
for each new platform, one submits them to the appropriate
VM (Virtual Machine). There's a Java VM for Windows, for
Unix, for Mac OS, and so on. In this sense, it's actually
an interpreted language. You write it, compile it down to
what's called "byte code" (tokens) and then it runs on any
Java VM of the proper version.
However, that's not all of the Java story. There are some
large overheads, some execution speed issues, and the fact
that it's an OOP (Object-Oriented Programming) language.
OOP is a subject unto itself -- I can't do it justice here.
It has it's own learning curve.
Just remember that anything, in any language, reduces to
assembly language, and efforts to hide the actual mechanics
of things using abstraction are just that. Much is made
of the terminology -- it's just new words for old concepts.
Having said all that:
I believe learning Java is worthwhile.
--
> As a beginning programmer, I am a little concerned with the
> fallout from XP, in that it seems to signal the possible
> fragmentation of the Windows dominance of the market.
--
Learn assembly language (at least the basics). Learn 'C'
(learn it well). Become acquainted with C++, as it's
concepts are quite similar to Java. (You can substitute
Pascal and Delphi for 'C' and C++, but they're not as
widely used.) By the time you've done this, I won't need
to tell you what to do next.
--
> While I have already invested some time and effort in
> VBasic, I am beginning to wonder whether that is a solid
> course for the future, since I have personally decided
> to abandon future MS upgrades, due to the politics
> inherent in XP's monitoring of hard drive configurations,
> and also the near certain future revival of 'Smart Tags'.
--
If you intend to service a broad public, don't ignore the
Windows family. It may not be the best platform, and it
may have its blemishes, and it's publishers may be cretins,
but you can't sell the public what's best for it, only what
they believe they want.
If you intend to target the more hard-core environments,
where the back-end is king (major database stuff, server
stuff), or if you are just a purist, go with the Unix
family (Unix, Linux, BSD, QNX). Any effort you invest
there will not be wasted.
--
> My present guess is that MS's actions have really thrown
> the doors open for people working in OS's other than
> Windows, from XP forward, and I don't want to invest a
> lot of time and effort learning a non-portable language
> for an OS that seems to be headed the way of OS2.
>
--
Two things here:
OS/2 never got off the ground in terms of market share.
I attended the first OS/2 developers' conference in
Seattle, and still have my "Microsoft OS|2" mug and
lapel pin. I spoke with J. Gordon Letwin, its chief
architect -- (also creator of HDOS, ca. 1978) -- and
others of the team. I knew nothing of Unix at the time.
I came away convinced that, on its merits, this would be
a killer OS. Microsoft pulled the rug from under it,
and the rest is history. (Later I learned that much of
what was good in OS/2 was derived from Unix -- Letwin
was well acquainted with Unix.)
Windows, on the other hand, did get off the ground,
and has become the dominant consumer operating system.
It's possible that it will suffer some loss of market
share, but that's hardly going to be an overnight
thing.
I'm not an advocate of VB, but it's the one language
that MS supports unreservedly. They make *everything*
they do work with it. A person committed to the MS
Windows platform would do well to become acquainted
with VB.
There is even a Unix/X-Window Basic language, called
X-Basic, I believe, which boasts similar functionality
to VB. I have not researched this.
I still believe that you are better off if you start
with assembly and 'C', even if you later learn VB.
--
> -wittig http://www.robertwittig.com/
--
Thanks, Robert.
--
~~Garry
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